southlandrevelationsfandomcom-20200215-history
Jacob Marin
In a city short on elders, Jacob Marin is in a very good position. He is an elder of the Invictus, one of the powerful regents of the business district, and a member of the First Estate's Inner Circle. Although a force to be reckoned with in Invictus politics for the last several decades, it was the Coup that actually pushed him up the ladder. He is a skilled and subtle player of the game, making a large public show of his acceptance of Sebastian LaCroix's seizure of Praxis. Privately, though, he holds the animosity towards the usuper, almost to the same degree as the Anarchs. However, he is simply convinced that he has more to gain by hiding this fact than by advertising it. The Slave is Now a Master In many ways, Jacob Marin is a man who would like to forget his past. Even better, he would like to erase his past. To a degree, he has succeeded. Few who meet this dapper and intellectual businessman, both Kindred & kine, would suspect he comes from a poor background. None at all would ever believe that he had once been a slave. The records no longer exist, and the story is not told, but somehow, decades ago, Jacob obtained his freedom and made a life for himself in Los Angeles. He was not the first African-American to do so, but he climbed the highest. And while some might expect him to be proud of this, as proof of his own worthiness to hold the power he does, he is secretly ashamed of his past and is worried that it will be discovered and used against him in some fashion. The truth of the matter is that he destroyed all records that might reveal it and no one else even remembers. Yet this does not assuage his fears. But those fears might be justified. Jacob suspects that were it not for the Coup he never would have climbed this high. While, in theory, the Invictus is a meritocracy, and generally is not one to throw aside talent, the prejudices of mortal days do not fade easily. It was through sheer ability and naked ambition that he managed to carve out a regency for himself in the nights of Prince Hunt, but he found himself unable to rise much higher. Denied access to the circles he wished, he stewed and planned. In the wake of ’76 the glass ceiling shattered. The struggling Invictus needed all the elders it could get; there was no room left for petty prejudices. This and this alone, Marin fears, is the reason for his current status. As such, part of him feels that he must move to consolidate his power now, lest it be taken from him. Recent Nights in the Southland At this point, however, such a fear is probably moot. Marin is one of the oldest vampires still active in the Invictus and its; moreover, he possesses great wealth, business acumen, a childe in a highly visible and important position, and an ever-growing number of young vampires as clients and supporters. Even other elders, elders who once snubbed him, have begun to approach with requests for alliance and patronage. But it might not matter. In all likelihood Jacob will always crave more power, more wealth, and more assurances, more layers between himself and the legacy he cannot escape. This drive might well place him on the throne one night, or it could just as easily destroy him. Nicholas